Presenting any speech can be a daunting task if you go into it unprepared and haven't been trained for it. Even more frightening to most people, however, is the thought of impromptu public speaking where you have little or even no time to prepare.

There are many different fears that may result in a wariness of impromptu public speaking. One way to become truly confident in speaking publicly without preparation is to identify the fears that are applicable to you and deal with each of them in isolation. In this manner, you can target each fear and overcome it completely to help you become more confident with impromptu public speaking.

Nervousness is the most common debilitating fear when it comes to public speaking, and it is even worse when you don't have time to prepare. Learning various techniques to overcome nervousness is one of the best things you can do if this is applicable to you. Being nervous when speaking publicly can severely debilitate your speech - it makes your thoughts unclear and distracts you from what you want to say, and this often causes you to forget all of your important points. If you learn to overcome nervousness, you will get rid of ninety percent of the problems associated with impromptu public speaking.

Another problem associated with impromptu public speaking is the fear of "choking" or not knowing what to say next. This often happens when someone isn't sufficiently prepared or is too nervous to concentrate on what they want to say. The best thing you can do to overcome choking during impromptu speeches is to practice as often as possible. In this way, you can ensure that you always have a method for remembering what to say. Some people try stalling for time while they think of what they wanted to say next - perhaps by feigning a dry throat and asking for a glass of water to be fetched. Others try a more dynamic approach like asking the audience questions - this can be used to ensure that the momentum of the speech isn't lost, while the audience's responses can spark a thought that will help you to move onto the next point.

Some people fear impromptu public speaking because they feel that an unprepared speech will inevitably lead to a weak speech. The fear of public humiliation is common and warranted, but it is possible to overcome it. One thing you can do is to ensure that you have at least five minutes to prepare at least the minimum elements that you need for a good speech. This means that you should at least have an introduction, a conclusion and a few keywords in mind before starting your speech. So once you have your topic, all you need to do is quickly think about how you will start and finish your speech, and then draft a few key points that will be easy to speak about.

Remember to keep your speech relevant to the topic in question and to think about your audience when coming up with key ideas. Impromptu public speaking doesn't need to be a work of art, but you shouldn't rush it just because you don't have time to prepare. You can spend at least a minute each preparing the introduction and conclusion, ensuring that they adequately convey your intended message. After this you should take at least three minutes to think about some key ideas and summarize each idea in one or two words that will be easy to remember. In this way, you only need to remember a few things and you can make up the "meat" of the speech as you go.

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